Examinando por Autor "Merinero, Sonia"

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AGUA EN ACCIÓN: TRABAJOS DE INNOVACIÓN DOCENTE PARA EL GRADO DE RECURSOS HÍDRICOS
(2024-07-30) Najarro, María; Herrera, Raquel; Martínez Coronado, Alba; Pichel, Natalia; López Mir, Berta; Montalvan, Francisco; Carreño, Francisco; Lillo, Javier; Martín Gonzáles, Fidel; Sánchez Hernández, Javier; Uscola, Mercedes; Merinero, Sonia
El RD 822/2021, por el que se establece la organización de las enseñanzas universitarias y del procedimiento de aseguramiento de su calidad, apela a construir el andamiaje de una formación universitaria focalizada en el estudiantado y en sus competencias, entendidas estas como el conjunto de conocimientos, capacidades o competencias y habilidades académicamente relevantes, que le confiere el título universitario alcanzado. Estas competencias permiten al estudiantado su inserción en el mundo laboral y, lógicamente, formar parte activa de la sociedad. Por tanto, la adaptación de los títulos a este RD debe abordar, junto con una nueva estructuración de los estudios, la incorporación de un enfoque formativo centrado en las competencias del estudiantado. Ante este desafío, se ha detectado que gran parte de las titulaciones adolecen de una deficiencia educativa que se caracteriza por la falta de integración de los conocimientos, habilidades y competencias adquiridas en las asignaturas que conforman el itinerario formativo. Con el fin de abordar esta problemática, y siguiendo lo establecido en el RD822/2021, se plantea promover una docencia innovadora, más activa, basada en una metodología de enseñanza–aprendizaje, en la cual ganan protagonismo nuevas estrategias docentes integradoras y formas de enseñar y aprender que buscan reforzar la capacidad de trabajo cooperativo, y que se apoyan en el uso de nuevas tecnologías y competencias digitales. El objetivo principal de este proyecto es trabajar de forma holística los resultados de aprendizaje que debe adquirir el graduado al finalizar sus estudios, dando continuidad a los conocimientos, habilidades y competencias entre asignaturas mediante la realización de una Trabajo Práctico de Campo (en adelante, TPC) de 4 días en los últimos cursos del grado. Se plantea un aprendizaje integrador, de forma que los estudiantes puedan utilizar y aplicar conceptos, metodologías y competencias, de varias asignaturas, optimizando y potenciando así el aprendizaje interdisciplinar, y creando para los alumnos experiencias auténticas más próximas a la realidad laboral y a la demanda social. Para ello se ha seleccionado un área de estudio (Somolinos, Guadalajara) en la que los alumnos del Grado de Recursos Hídricos (RRHH), mediante un TPC, establecerán conexiones entre las materias de Geología (1º curso), Hidrología Superficial (2º), Hidrogeología (2º), Sistemas de Información Geográfica (3ª), Tecnologías de Captación (3º) y Modelización Hidrológica e Hidrogeológica (3º), integrando habilidades y conocimientos teóricos, prácticos y digitales desarrollados en las mismas. Al finalizar este proyecto piloto, se valorará la incidencia en los resultados académicos de los estudiantes y la mejora del aprendizaje. También se analizará si la colaboración entre asignaturas y docentes implicados ha influido en la mejora de su labor docente. Se espera que este proyecto redunde en una mayor coordinación entre las asignaturas y los docentes del grado y ayude a adquirir una visión global de la titulación y del perfil de egreso esperado, tanto a los estudiantes como a los profesores. Finalmente, uno de los principales logros de este proyecto es analizar si esta propuesta metodológica innovadora puede implementarse en el grado RRHH como una asignatura en su próxima modificación para su adaptación al RD822/2021.
Contrasting environmental drivers determine biodiversity patterns in epiphytic lichen communities along a European gradient
(MDPI, 2020) Hurtado, P; Prieto, M; de Bello, F; Merinero, Sonia; Martínez, I
Assessing the ecological impacts of environmental change on biological communities requires knowledge of the factors driving the spatial patterns of the three diversity facets along extensive environmental gradients. We quantified the taxonomic (TD), functional (FD), and phylogenetic diversity (PD) of lichen epiphytic communities in 23 beech forests along Europe to examine their response to environmental variation (climate, habitat quality, spatial predictors) at a continental geographic scale. We selected six traits related to the climatic conditions in forest ecosystems, the water-use strategy and the nutrient uptake, and we built a phylogenetic tree based on four molecular markers. FD and climate determined TD and PD, with spatial variables also affecting PD. The three diversity facets were primarily shaped by distinct critical predictors, with the temperature diurnal range affecting FD and PD, and precipitation of the wettest month determining TD. Our results emphasize the value of FD for explaining part of TD and PD variation in lichen communities at a broad geographic scale, while highlighting that these diversity facets provide complementary information about the communities' response under changing environmental conditions. Furthermore, traits such as growth form, photobiont type, and reproductive strategy mediated the response of lichen communities to abiotic factors emerging as useful indicators of macroclimatic variations.
Disentangling functional trait variation and covariation in epiphytic lichens along a continent-wide latitudinal gradient
(Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2020) Hurtado, P; Prieto, M; Martínez-Vilalta, J; Merinero, Sonia; Martínez, I
Characterizing functional trait variation and covariation, and its drivers, is critical to understand the response of species to changing environmental conditions. Evolutionary and environmental factors determine how traits vary among and within species at multiple scales. However, disentangling their relative contribution is challenging and a comprehensive trait–environment framework addressing such questions is missing in lichens. We investigated the variation in nine traits related to photosynthetic performance, water use and nutrient acquisition applying phylogenetic comparative analyses in lichen epiphytic communities on beech across Europe. These poikilohydric organisms offer a valuable model owing to their inherent limitations to buffer contrasting environmental conditions. Photobiont type and growth form captured differences in certain physiological traits whose variation was largely determined by evolutionary processes (i.e. phylogenetic history), although the intraspecific component was non-negligible. Seasonal temperature fluctuations also had an impact on trait variation, while nitrogen content depended on photobiont type rather than nitrogen deposition. The inconsistency of trait covariation among and within species prevented establishing major resource use strategies in lichens. However, we did identify a general pattern related to the water-use strategy. Thus, to robustly unveil lichen responses under different climatic scenarios, it is necessary to incorporate both among and within-species trait variation and covariation.
Drivers of large-scale spatial demographic variation in a perennial plant
(ESA, 2021) Römer, Gesa; Christiansen, Ditte M.; de Buhr, H; Jones, O. R.; Merinero, Sonia; Reitzel, K; Ehrlén, J; Dalhgren, J.P.; Hylander, K
To understand how the environment drives spatial variation in population dynamics, we need to assess the effects of a large number of potential drivers on vital rates (survival, growth, and reproduction) and explore these relationships over large geographical areas and broad environmental gradients. In this study, we examined the effects of a wide variety of abiotic and biotic environmental factors on the demography of the forest understory herb Actaea spicata between 2017 and 2019 at 40 sites across Sweden, including the northern range margin of its distribution. We assessed the effects of potential environmental drivers on vital rates using generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) and then quantified the impact of each important driver on population growth rate (λ) using integral projection models (IPMs). Population dynamics of A. spicata were mostly driven by environmental factors affecting survival and growth, such as air humidity, soil depth, and forest tree species composition, and thus, those drivers jointly determined the realized niche of the species. Soil pH had a strong effect on the flowering probability, while the effect on λ was relatively small. In addition to identifying specific drivers for A. spicata’s population dynamics, our study illustrates the impact that spatial variation in environmental conditions can have on λ. Assessing the effects of a broad range of potential drivers, as done in this study, is important not only to quantify the relative importance of different drivers for population dynamics but also to understand species distributions and abundance patterns.
ForestClim—Bioclimatic variables for microclimate temperatures of European forests
(Wiley, 2023-04) Haesen, Stef; Lembrechts, Jonas J.; De Frenne, Pieter; Lenoir, Jonathan; Aalto, Juha; Ashcroft, Michael B; Kopecký, Martin; Luoto, Miska; Maclean, Ilya; Nijs, Ivan; Niittynen, Pekka; van den Hoogen, Johan; Arriga, Nicola; Brůna, Josef; Buchmann, Nina; Čiliak, Marek; Collalti, Alessio; De Lombaerde, Emiel; Descombes, Patrice; Gharun, Mana; Goded, Ignacio; Govaert, Sanne; Greiser, Caroline; Grelle, Achim; Gruening, Carsten; Hederová, Lucia; Hylander, Kristoffer; Kreyling, Jürgen; Kruijt, Bart; Macek, Martin; Máliš, František; Man, Matěj; Manca, Giovanni; Radim, Matula; Camille, Meeussen; Merinero, Sonia; Minerbi, Stefano; Montagnani, Leonardo; Lena, Muffler; Ogaya, Romá; Peñuelas, Josep; Plichta, Roman; Portillo-Estrada, Miguel; Schmeddes, Jonas; Shekhar, Ankit; Spicher, Fabien; Ujházyová, Mariana; Vangansbeke, Pieter; Weigel, Robert; Wild, Jan; Zellweger, Florian; Van Meerbeek, Koenraad
Microclimate research gained renewed interest over the last decade and its importance for many ecological processes is increasingly being recognized. Consequently, the call for high-resolution microclimatic temperature grids across broad spatial extents is becoming more pressing to improve ecological models. Here, we provide a new set of open-access bioclimatic variables for microclimate temperatures of European forests at 25 × 25 m2 resolution.
ForestTemp–Sub‐canopy microclimate temperatures of European forests
(Wiley, 2021-12) Haensen, Stef; Lembrechts, Jonas J; De Frenne, Pieter; Lenoir, Jonathan; Aalto, Juha; Merinero, Sonia; Van Meerbeek, Koenraad
Ecological research heavily relies on coarse-gridded climate data based on standardized temperature measurements recorded at 2 m height in open landscapes. However, many organisms experience environmental conditions that differ substantially from those captured by these macroclimatic (i.e. free air) temperature grids. In forests, the tree canopy functions as a thermal insulator and buffers sub-canopy microclimatic conditions, thereby affecting biological and ecological processes. To improve the assessment of climatic conditions and climate-change-related impacts on forest-floor biodiversity and functioning, high-resolution temperature grids reflecting forest microclimates are thus urgently needed. Combining more than 1200 time series of in situ near-surface forest temperature with topographical, biological and macroclimatic variables in a machine learning model, we predicted the mean monthly offset between sub-canopy temperature at 15 cm above the surface and free-air temperature over the period 2000–2020 at a spatial resolution of 25 m across Europe. This offset was used to evaluate the difference between microclimate and macroclimate across space and seasons and finally enabled us to calculate mean annual and monthly temperatures for European forest understories. We found that sub-canopy air temperatures differ substantially from free-air temperatures, being on average 2.1°C (standard deviation ± 1.6°C) lower in summer and 2.0°C higher (±0.7°C) in winter across Europe. Additionally, our high-resolution maps expose considerable microclimatic variation within landscapes, not captured by the gridded macroclimatic products. The provided forest sub-canopy temperature maps will enable future research to model below-canopy biological processes and patterns, as well as species distributions more accurately.
Global maps of soil temperature
(Wiley, 2022-05) Lembrechts, Jonas J.; van den Hoogen, Johan; Aalto, Juha; Ashcroft, Michael B.; De Frenne, Pieter; Kemppinen, Julia; Kopecký, Martin; Luoto, Miska; Merinero, Sonia; Lenoir, Jonathan
Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km2 resolution for 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e. offset) between in situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km2 pixels (summarized from 8519 unique temperature sensors) across all the world's major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (−0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications.
High‐resolution data are necessary to understand the effects of climate on plant population dynamics of a forest herb
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2024-01) Christiansen, Ditte M; Römer, Gesa; Dahlgren, Johan P; Borg, Malin; Jones, Owen R; Merinero, Sonia; Hylander, Kristoffer; Ehrlén, Johan
Climate is assumed to strongly influence species distribution and abundance.Although the performance of many organisms is influenced by the climate intheir immediate proximity, the climate data used to model their distributionsoften have a coarse spatial resolution. This is problematic because the local cli-mate experienced by individuals might deviate substantially from the regionalaverage. This problem is likely to be particularly important for sessile organ-isms like plants and in environments where small-scale variation in climate islarge. To quantify the effect of local temperature on vital rates and populationgrowth rates, we used temperature values measured at the local scale (in situlogger measures) and integral projection models with demographic data from37 populations of the forest herbLathyrus vernusacross a wide latitudinal gra-dient in Sweden. To assess how the spatial resolution of temperature datainfluences assessments of climate effects, we compared effects from modelsusing local data with models using regionally aggregated temperature data atseveral spatial resolutions (≥1 km). Using local temperature data, we foundthat spring frost reduced the asymptotic population growth rate in the first oftwo annual transitions and influenced survival in both transitions. Only one ofthe four regional estimates showed a similar negative effect of spring frost onpopulation growth rate. Our results for a perennial forest herb show that ana-lyses using regionally aggregated data often fail to identify the effects of cli-mate on population dynamics. This emphasizes the importance of usingorganism-relevant estimates of climate when examining effects on individualperformance and population dynamics, as well as when modeling species dis-tributions. For sessile organisms that experience the environment over smallspatial scales, this will require climate data at high spatial resolutions.
Intraspecific variation influences performance of moss transplants along microclimate gradients
(Wiley, 2020-01) Merinero, Sonia; Dahlberg, C. Johan; Ehrlén, Johan; Hylander, Kristoffer
Identifying the environmental drivers of population dynamics is crucial to predict changes in species abundances and distributions under climate change. Populations of the same species might differ in their responses as a result of intraspecific variation. Yet the importance of such differences remains largely unexplored. We examined the responses of latitudinally distant populations of the forest moss Hylocomiastrum umbratum along microclimate gradients in Sweden. We transplanted moss mats from southern and northern populations to 30 sites with contrasting microclimates (i.e., replicated field common gardens) within a forest landscape, and recorded growth and survival of individual shoots over 3 yr. To evaluate the importance of intraspecific variation in responses to environmental factors, we assessed effects of the interactions between population origin and microclimate drivers on growth and survival. Effects on overall performance of transplanted populations were estimated using the product of survival and growth. We found differences between southern and northern populations in the response to summer temperature and snowmelt date in one of three yearly transitions. In this year, southern populations performed better in warm, southern-like conditions than in cold, northern-like conditions; and the reverse pattern was true for northern populations. Survival of all populations decreased with evaporation, consistent with the high hydric demands and poikilohydric nature of mosses. Our results are consistent with population adaptation to local climate, and suggest that intraspecific variation among populations can have important effects on the response of species to microclimate drivers. These findings highlight the need to account for differential responses in predictions of species abundance and distribution under climate change.
“Land-sparing benefits biodiversity while land-sharing benefits ecosystem services”: Stakeholders’ perspectives on biodiversity conservation strategies in boreal forests
(Springer Nature, 2024-01) Löfroth, Therese; Merinero, Sonia; Johansson, Johanna; Nordström, Eva Maria; Sahlström, Emma; Sjögren, Jörgen; Ranius, Thomas
Biodiversity conservation and economic profit from forests can be combined by various land-sparing and land-sharing approaches. Using a semi-structured survey, we evaluated support for scenarios representing contrasting conservation strategies in a managed boreal forest landscape. Land-sparing approaches were supported by the conservation organisation, regional administrations and the forest company, mainly motivated by the benefit for biodiversity based on ecological theory. Land-sharing approaches were supported by one recreational organisation, some municipalities and the forest owners’ association, mainly motivated by the delivery of ecosystem services. Stakeholder groups using certain ecosystem services had motivations that we related to an anthropocentric mindset, while others focused more on species conservation, which can be related both to an anthropocentric or an ecocentric mindsets. Forest conservation planning should consider stakeholders’ preferences to handle land-use conflicts. Since reaching consensus among multiple stakeholders seems unfeasible, a combination of land-sparing and land-sharing approaches is probably the best compromise.
Low synthesis of secondary compounds in the lichen Lobaria pulmonaria infected by the lichenicolous fungus Plectocarpon lichenum
(New Phytologist Trust, 2018-03-01) Asplund, Johan; Gauslaa, Yngvar; Merinero, Sonia
SoilTemp: a global database of near-surface temperature
(Wiley, 2020) Lembrechts, J; Aalto, Juha; Aschroft, M.B.; Merinero, Sonia; Nijs, I
Current analyses and predictions of spatially explicit patterns and processes in ecology most often rely on climate data interpolated from standardized weather stations. This interpolated climate data represents long-term average thermal conditions at coarse spatial resolutions only. Hence, many climate-forcing factors that operate at fine spatiotemporal resolutions are overlooked. This is particularly important in relation to effects of observation height (e.g. vegetation, snow and soil characteristics) and in habitats varying in their exposure to radiation, moisture and wind (e.g. topography, radiative forcing or cold-air pooling). Since organisms living close to the ground relate more strongly to these microclimatic conditions than to free-air temperatures, microclimatic ground and near-surface data are needed to provide realistic forecasts of the fate of such organisms under anthropogenic climate change, as well as of the functioning of the ecosystems they live in. To fill this critical gap, we highlight a call for temperature time series submissions to SoilTemp, a geospatial database initiative compiling soil and near-surface temperature data from all over the world. Currently, this database contains time series from 7,538 temperature sensors from 51 countries across all key biomes. The database will pave the way toward an improved global understanding of microclimate and bridge the gap between the available climate data and the climate at fine spatiotemporal resolutions relevant to most organisms and ecosystem processes.
Specialized fungal parasites reduce fitness of their lichen hosts
(Oxford Academic, 2018-01) Merinero, Sonia; Gauslaa, Yngvar
Warm range margin of boreal bryophytes and lichens not directly limited by temperatures
(Wiley, 2021-10) Greiser, Caroline; Ehrlén, Johan; Luoto, Miska; Meineri, Eric; Merinero, Sonia; Willman, Benny; Hylander, Kristoffer
Species at their warm range margin are potentially threatened by higher temperatures, but may persist in microrefugia. Whether such microsites occur due to more suitable microclimate or due to lower biotic pressure from, for example competitive species, is still not fully resolved. We examined whether boreal bryophytes and lichens show signs of direct climate limitation, that is whether they perform better in cold and/or humid microclimates at their warm range margin. We transplanted a moss, a liverwort and a lichen to 58 boreal forest sites with different microclimates at the species' southern range margin in central Sweden. Species were grown in garden soil patches to control the effects of competitive exclusion and soil quality. We followed the transplanted species over three growing seasons (2016–2018) and modelled growth and vitality for each species as a function of subcanopy temperature, soil moisture, air humidity and forest type. In 2018, we also recorded the cover of other plants having recolonized the garden soil patches and modelled this potential future competition with the same environmental variables plus litter. Species performance increased with warmer temperatures, which was often conditional on high soil moisture, and at sites with more conifers. Soil moisture had a positive effect, especially on the moss in the last year 2018, when the growing season was exceptionally hot and dry. The lichen was mostly affected by gastropod grazing. Recolonization of other plants was also faster at warmer and moister sites. The results indicate that competition, herbivory, shading leaf litter and water scarcity might be more important than the direct effects of temperature for performance at the species' warm range margin. Synthesis. In a transplant experiment with three boreal understorey species, we did not find signs of direct temperature limitation towards the south. Forest microrefugia, that is habitats where these species could persist regional warming, may instead be sites with fewer competitors and enemies, and with sufficient moisture and more conifers in the overstorey.